Written questions by Berry.

How many Office for Students’ staff hours were spent on work relating to the Office for Students' regulatory case report for the University of Sussex, published on 26 March 2025 broken down by grade.

This government is committed to free speech as a non-negotiable, and expects universities to take their responsibilities to upholding it seriously.The Office for Students (OfS) is an independent regulator responsible for ensuring that higher education (HE) in England delivers positive outcomes for students. While the OfS operates within the broader policy framework set by the department, it maintains operational independence in its regulatory decisions and activities.Their core regulatory activity is funded primarily through fees paid by registered providers, rather than the public purse. The OfS may also require a provider in relation to which a sanction has been imposed, to pay the costs incurred by the OfS in relation to imposing the sanction.Investigations on breaches to conditions of registration forms the core regulatory purpose of the OfS, it is therefore not possible to calculate the specific costs for individual investigations.The OfS’s published policy on monetary penalties, ‘Regulatory advice 19', makes provision for a reduced penalty where a settlement is reached at an early stage of an investigation. This is intended to avoid the OfS and a provider needing to expend resources to complete the detailed work necessary to draft and respond to provisional and final decisions.Whether the OfS sought external legal advice on any matter, including the investigation into Sussex, is a matter for the OfS, and it is strictly confidential.The OfS plans to publish further guidance on providers’ duties to take steps to secure free speech shortly, ahead of new duties on HE providers under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 coming into force. This is currently planned for 1 August.

Whether the Office for Students commissioned external legal counsel in relation to their (a) regulatory case report for the University of Sussex, published on 26 March 2025 and (b) investigation which led to that report.

This government is committed to free speech as a non-negotiable, and expects universities to take their responsibilities to upholding it seriously.The Office for Students (OfS) is an independent regulator responsible for ensuring that higher education (HE) in England delivers positive outcomes for students. While the OfS operates within the broader policy framework set by the department, it maintains operational independence in its regulatory decisions and activities.Their core regulatory activity is funded primarily through fees paid by registered providers, rather than the public purse. The OfS may also require a provider in relation to which a sanction has been imposed, to pay the costs incurred by the OfS in relation to imposing the sanction.Investigations on breaches to conditions of registration forms the core regulatory purpose of the OfS, it is therefore not possible to calculate the specific costs for individual investigations.The OfS’s published policy on monetary penalties, ‘Regulatory advice 19', makes provision for a reduced penalty where a settlement is reached at an early stage of an investigation. This is intended to avoid the OfS and a provider needing to expend resources to complete the detailed work necessary to draft and respond to provisional and final decisions.Whether the OfS sought external legal advice on any matter, including the investigation into Sussex, is a matter for the OfS, and it is strictly confidential.The OfS plans to publish further guidance on providers’ duties to take steps to secure free speech shortly, ahead of new duties on HE providers under the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023 coming into force. This is currently planned for 1 August.

What the (a) spend was up to and including the 2023-24 financial year and (b) forecast spend is for the 2024-25 financial year on the T level programme.

Spend on the T Level programme was £994 million up to and including the 2023/24 financial year. Forecast spend for the 2024/25 financial year on the T Level programme is £253 million.

If she will issue guidance to schools to make clear every child with epilepsy is entitled to have an Individual Healthcare Plan with (a) information about their epilepsy and (b) any support they need.

Statutory guidance on supporting pupils at school with medical conditions recommends the use of individual healthcare plans as good practice, as they can help schools to support pupils with medical conditions by providing clarity about what needs to be do...

For what reason the 2024-25 pay award does not apply to teachers in (a) sixth form and (b) further education colleges; and if she will make it her policy to apply the award to those teachers.

Further education (FE) providers are not in scope of the School Teacher Review Body’s remit. The government neither sets nor makes recommendations about FE teacher pay, and it is instead the responsibility of individual colleges to make awards in line with their own local circumstances. The fiscal situation that the government has inherited means that it has had to take incredibly difficult decisions about how to allocate scarce resources. However, I can assure you that this government knows the very important contribution of sectors where pay is not currently set by a Pay Review Body, including FE. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will announce a Budget on 30 October, to be followed by a multi-year spending review in Spring 2025. Decisions about future post-16 funding and capital programmes will be subject to the outcomes of these fiscal events. The department will continue with plans to invest in FE teachers, as part of the c.£600 million funding across the 2024/25 and 2025/26 financial years that was announced last autumn. This includes extending retention payments of up to £6,000 after tax to eligible early career FE teachers in key subject areas. We will also work with the FE sector to recruit 6,500 additional teachers across schools and colleges to raise standards for children and young people.

How many students took the (a) BTEC Level 3 National Diploma in Business and (b) WJEC Level 3 Applied Diploma in Criminology in (i) Brighton and Hove and (ii) the UK in the 2023-24 academic year; and whether students will be able to enrol on these courses in the 2025-26 academic year.

The full-year participation data for the 2023/24 academic year is expected to be available in November 2024. After this point the department will be in a position to provide additional breakdowns. Regarding student enrolment for the 2025/26 academic year, on 24 July 2024 the Secretary of State announced that the department is conducting a short, internal review of Post-16 qualifications reform at Level 3 and below. Defunding decisions for 2025 onwards will be confirmed after the short review and we will set out the position before the end of December 2024.